Enhancement of Creative Expression and Entoptic Phenomena as After-Effects of Repeated Ayahuasca Ceremonies

Abstract

Studying the effect of psychedelic substances on expression of creativity is a challenging problem. Our primary objective was to study the psychometric measures of creativity after a series of ayahuasca ceremonies at a time when the acute effects have subsided. The secondary objective was to investigate how entoptic phenomena emerge during expression of creativity. Forty individuals who were self-motivated participants of ayahuasca rituals in Brazil completed the visual components of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking before and the second day after the end of a two-week long ceremony series. Twenty-one comparison subjects who did not participate in recent psychedelic use also took the Torrance tests twice, two weeks apart. Repeated ingestion of ayahuasca in the ritual setting significantly increased the number of highly original solutions and phosphenic responses. However, participants in the ayahuasca ceremonies exhibited more phosphenic solutions already at the baseline, probably due to the fact that they had more psychedelic experiences within six months prior to the study than the comparison subjects did. This naturalistic study supports the notion that some measures of visual creativity may increase after ritual use of ayahuasca, when the acute psychoactive effects are receded. It also demonstrates an increased entoptic activity after repeated ayahuasca ingestion.

Creativity and Psychoactive Substance Use: A Systematic Review

“…In Harman et al's (1966) study, mescaline was used. In another case (Frecska et al, 2012), ayahuasca was used, while in Schafer et al's study (2012), the altered state was facilitated by cannabis use.…”

“…Among the empirical studies, seven used questionnaires. The most frequently used assessment measure was the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) (Torrance, 1974) in three cases (Edwards, 1993;Frecska et al, 2012;Fink et al, 2012). Additionally, Fink et al (2012) studied verbal creativity with the use of the Verbal Imagination subscale of the German Berliner Intelligenz Struktur Test (Jäger, Süß & Beauducel, 1997).…”

“…However, the authors also noted that the drug's effect only strengthened characteristics that were already present in the individual, so the results were highly dependent on individual differences. Finally, a study by Frecska et al (2012) examined the effect of ayahuasca on creativity. The study comprised 40 participants (17 males) who participated in series of tasks using ayahuasca.…”

Ayahuasca: what mental health professionals need to know

“…Areas that are currently being investigated and that should be further explored include the study of the neural basis of the antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of ayahuasca and its effects on the default mode network (DMN), a network whose alteration may be related to diseases that go from autism to schizophrenia or depression, and on brain areas that regulate emotions, memory, and higher cognition including self-awareness and introspection 20,25,26,[32][33][34]42 . Moreover, recent uncontrolled studies suggest that ayahuasca may increase mindfulness capacities and creativity [74][75][76] Thus, studies with improved methodologies that include controlled designs and neuroimaging could improve our understanding of this possible effects of ayahuasca and the possible association between them and the therapeutic properties of ayahuasca.…”

Interjú Egy Shuar Uwishin-Nel

“…A tudományos világban is láthatunk az autentikus gyógymódok és hitrendszerek megismerésére való törekvéseket (Bokor, Frecska, Csányi & Bry, 2012;Frecska, Móré, Vargha & Luna, 2012). Az ayahuascával való gyógyászat lehe-6 Lásd Interjú tősége számos kutatónak felkeltette az érdeklődését, mint például a magyar származású addiktológus Máté Gábornak.…”